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This blog has spoiled me beyond all hope or recognition.  Over the years I’ve used it to find nannies, to get books re-published, and now it has solved a mystery that lay dormant for years.  Back in November of 2009 I decided I wanted to track down a book from my childhood.  Writing stumpers into the internet ether is usually rather pointless and the post Thanksgiving: The Ernestine Mystery was no exception.  So imagine my surprise when reader Desiree Preston wrote me the following note this week:

“Speaking of happy childhood memories, I was able to track down what is for sure the book I was looking for when I read you article at http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2009/11/26/thanksgiving-the-ernestine-mystery/#comment-4765. I don’t know if it is really the one you were looking for, but I thought I’d let you know. It is called Good Old Ernie by Jerry Mallett. Shout out to my second grade teacher, Judy Gomoluch, who is still good friends with my fourth grade teacher Mary Kain, and saw and answered my Facebook post.”

Could this be true?  Jerry Mallett?  So I tracked down the cover and lo and behold  . . .

That’s it, people.  I can’t believe it.  After seven years the mystery is solved.  Let that be a lesson to you, kids.  DON’T STOP BELIEVING! HOLD ONTO THAT FEEEEEEEELING . . . .

So what else is going on in the wild and wonderful world of children’s literature?  Well, since I’m already talking about Thanksgiving, it’s not much of a stretch to mention Christmas as well.  Now has anyone else noticed that there are a LOT of Nutcracker books out in 2016?  I honestly think I’ve seen five different picture book versions of the story, all from different publishers.  Now I’ve heard something that may interest my Chicago readers.  Brian Selznick has recently been working on some fun new projects, including a Chicago related ballet.  According to him . . .

“I’m writing the story for the new version of The Nutcracker (to be set during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair) at the Joffrey choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon. It premieres this December! I think it’s going to be good…http://joffrey.org/nutcrackerbios.”

One glimpse at the folks behind it (Basil Twist! Christopher Wheeldon!) and I don’t merely “think” it’s going to be good.  I know it’s going to be good.  Sendak (the only other children’s book illustrator I know who had a hand in a reinterpretation of The Nutcracker) would be proud.  Hat tip to Brian for the tip.

Now let’s double back to NYC, since I’m sure there are folks in that neck of the woods that would like a little children’s literature-related fun.  Interested in a book festival that’ll get you out of the city?  Why not try The Warwick Children’s Book Festival?  As it was sold to me . . .

“Apple- and pumpkin-picking, farm markets, lovely shops, galleries and restaurants downtown…lots to enjoy for families looking for a fun afternoon on a holiday weekend.  And among other illustrious authors and illustrators such as Wendell Minor, Jane Yolen, Ame Dyckman, Brian Karas, Roxane Orgill, one of your Boston Globe/Horn Book 2016 award winners, will be there with Jazz Day!  And…the Festival is presented by Albert Wisner Public Library, winner of the Best Small Library in America 2016 award conferred by Library Journal!  We’re excited to invite everyone from the NY Metro Area to discover our festival, our library and our town.”

Go in my stead, gentle readers.  Go in my stead.

I’ll linger just a tad longer in the NYC area since to my infinite delight I found that the irascible, entirely delightful Brooklyn librarian Rita Meade has just been named a “Celebrity Librarian” and one of The Brooklyn 100.  Go, Rita, Go!

Now I’ll hike back over to the Midwest again.  Maybe I’ll stop in Detroit on the way.  Why?  Because in a bit of absolutely fascinating news we’ve learned the the newest American Girl is Melody Ellison, a child of early ’60s Detroit.  Mental Floss also had this to say about the gal:

A six-member advisory board worked to craft her portrayal and included prominent members of the NAACP, history professors, and the President and CEO of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit. Along with author Denise Lewis Patrick, they worked together to ensure Melody’s story was as true to life as possible—including her hair. The texture of the doll’s locks was changed multiple times to reflect the era.

“In the late ’60s, the majority of African-Americans did have straight hair,” Juanita Moore, President and CEO of the Wright Museum, said to the Detroit Free Press. “It may not have been bone straight, but it was straightened.”

Thanks to PW Children’s Bookshelf for the news.

No doubt you’ve heard it elsewhere by now, but the saddest information of the week was that Llama Llama’s mama, Anna Dewdney, died recently.  I don’t think my family owns any full runs of picture book series . . . with the exception of the Llama Llama books.  There’s a lovely obit for her in PW worth looking on.  She will be missed.

Turn now to happy news.  They’ve announced the speakers for the upcoming ALSC Mini Institute, which will occur before the ALA Midwinter Conference in January.  Behold the speakers for yourself, then sign up.

Me stuff.  The very kind Suzanne Slade interviewed me about my picture book Giant Dance Party at the blog Picture Book Builders.  Woohoo!  Still in print, baby!

Pop Goes the Page at Princeton is still up to their usual tricks.  Today they’re wowing us with their tribute to Alice in Wonderland.  Try not to keen too mournfully when you realize you missed a chance to hear Leonard Marcus talk about the book’s relationship to surrealism.

Daily Image:

Not much on the roster today, so why don’t I just send you off with a picture of me reading the latest John Patrick Green graphic novel Hippotomister to my kids?  They adore it, by the way.  So two thumbs up from 2-year-olds and 5-year-olds equally over here.

2016 is the year of Hope Larson.

A while back, we covered the announcement of Teen Boat artist John Patrick Green’s first solo graphic novel, Hippopotamister.  Recently released by First Second Books, Hippopotamister is about two animals who decide to escape the run-down zoo they called home in order to forge better lives for themselves.  They go out into human society to look for jobs, […]

Artists of the realm, prepare to take up your swords and pencils once more! I

The plan was simple: steal chicken eggs, "raise the chicks, scare them, and eat them. But things don't go exactly as he planned..."

To celebrate First Second Books and the rise of graphic novels, we thought it would be fun to have graphic novelist veteran, Leland Myrick, who has been with First Second from the beginning, and Andy Hirsch, a 2016 debut graphic novelist, interview each other.

From First Second Books comes a new series about a young girl and her artistic alter ego!

Here we go again. A parent in Seminole County, Fla. found that her nine year old brought home This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki and thought it was way too adult for her kid and complained, and the local TV news has launched an investigation and discovered that shockingly, the book, which […]

So First Second comes to me and says it’s their 10th anniversary. Happy anniversary, sez I. They ask if I want to participate in the celebration by doing so kind of a post. My mind is a bit blank but I give it a think. Then I came up with the idea of the following post. They actually managed to think up ten. No mean feat. As such, I present to you (in the company’s own voice):

TEN THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT FIRST SECOND

for First Second’s 10th Anniversary

1. Curious about how a graphic novel imprint gets created? :01 Editorial Director Mark Siegel coincidentally met the publisher of Macmillan (our parent company), John Sargent, at a wedding they were both attending . . . and things took off from there!

2. First Second has an imaginary office pet — though unfortunately not a real one (for allergy reasons).  It is a cat-shaped pillow, and it comes on the road with us to conventions. Probably we should come up with a name for it!

3. How much time does it typically take from when we acquire a graphic novel to when we publish it?  On average, about three years — partially because graphic novels take a long time to make; partially because we print our books in China and the production process is pretty extensive, too!

4. We (like Macmillan) have a commitment to being green — our sales reps drive hybrid cars, and we print our books on sustainably sourced paper.

5. First Second’s longest-running series to date is George O’Connor’s Olympians.  We published the first volume (Zeus: King of the Gods) in 2010; the final volume will be on sale in 2020!

6. Our list in 2016 will be twenty-four titles — twice the number of graphic novels we published in our first year, 2016.  We’re growing!

7. Three-quarters of First Second’s staff are women.  We don’t have the typical staff gender breakdown for a comic book publisher!  We currently have four full-time employees.

8. Our Editorial Director, Mark Siegel, grew up in France.  So if you’re wondering why First Second publishes so many books in translation — he (and his childhood love of the graphic novel) are the reason!

9. Every book in our first list (of six titles!) was published on the same day!  Ten years later, we try to space out our publishing program a little more evenly throughout the year.

10. First Second’s offices are based in the flatiron building — New York’s iconic wedge-shaped historic building.  Fictionally, the flatiron building is also home to Peter Parker’s The Daily Bugle.  Unfortunately, we have yet to see his superheroic counterpart swinging by our windows!

Thanks to the folks at :01 for the insider info.

The author of American Born Chinese sits down to talk with us about his new role as the first comics alumnus to hold the prestigious position of ambassador of young people's literature.

If you know me then you know I’ve a certain weakness for comics, graphic novels, graphic comics, and comic novels (?).  You draw it, I like it.  And every once in a while, First Second will offer me a little jacket to reveal in some manner.  It seems timely that with the announcement about the first National Ambassador of Young People Literature to work in the comic book field, the time is ripe to promote all things comic-y.

But what, you may ask, is the comic in question?  Well, the one of the newest books out there in the Science Comics series.  Science Comics is described by First Second as, “our marvelous new series for every science geek out there, starting with Dinosaurs, by MK Reed and Joe Flood, and Coral Reefs, by Maris Wicks!  All you ever wanted to know about dinosaurs and coral reefs and were hoping someone would make a comic about!”

Not as much into the ocean or the terrible lizards?  Red-hot magma more your speed?  Then boyo, do I have a cover for you:

Here are the basic stats:

Science Comics: Volcanos
by Jon Chad
On Sale 10/18/16

And First Second sez:

“This volume: in VOLCANOES, we explore these exciting and explosive vents in the Earth’s surface. Along the way readers will learn about lava, tectonic plates, islands and other land masses generated by volcanoes, famous volcanoes, and famous eruptions. Jon Chad’s detailed and quirky story-telling style, as found in the Leo Geo series of books, is perfectly suited to bring volcanoes to life.

Jon Chad was born and raised in Vermont. After completing the BFA Sequential Art program at Savannah College of Art and Design, he moved back to White River Junction, Vermont, where he now works at the Center for Cartoon Studies teaching screen-printing and bookmaking. He is the author of Leo Geo and His Miraculous Journey Through the Center of the Earth and Leo Geo and the Cosmic Crisis. jonchad.tumblr.com.

We sit down for a chat with Jason Shiga about his existential mindbender, DEMON, and reveal the cover to First Second's collected edition of the series.

Pro gaming is getting a graphical makeover.

Well, the surprises keep coming! Coming from Macmillan, in October 2016: Tetris The Games People Play By: Box Brown Author: Box Brown Publisher/Imprint: First Second Publication Date: October 2016 ISBN: 9781626723153 Format: Trade Paperback Page Count: 0 pages Price: $19.99 Who is Box Brown? Well, if you click the link above, you’ll see this: Box […]

Jason Shiga, known for his multi-path comics such as Meanwhile, is scheduled to publish his next title, Demon, with First Second in October 2016. It say’s “Book 1” in the catalog, and given the description below, looks like it will run about six volumes. What’s the comic about? Well, from his patreon website: I’m currently creating […]

By Cal Cleary Özge Samanci is a multi-media artist, an assistant professor at Northwestern University, and a talented cartoonist who has had exhibitions of her work hosted all over the world. Her first graphic memoir, Dare to Disappoint, is out now from Farrar, Straus and Giroux. It follows Samanci’s coming of age in Turkey. From a […]

Take a peek inside this highly anticipated new release

Human Body Theater
By Maris Wicks
First Second (a imprint of Roaring Brook and division of Macmillan)
$14.99
ISBN: 978-1-59643-929-0
Ages 9-12
On shelves now.

I gotta come clean with you. Skeletons? I’ve got a thing for them. Not a “thing” as in I find them attractive, but rather a “thing” as in I find them fascinating. I always have. Back in the 80s there was a science-related Canadian television show called “Owl TV” (a Canuck alternative to “3-2-1 Contact”) and one of the regular features was a skeleton by the name of Bonaparte who taught kids about various scientific matters. But aside from the odd viewing of “Jason and the Argonauts”, walking, talking (or, at the very least, stalking) skeletons don’t crop up all that often when you become grown. So maybe my attachment to Human Body Theater with its knobby narrator has its roots deep in my own personal history. Or maybe it has something more to do with the witty writing, untold gobs of nonfiction information, eye-catching art, and general sense of intelligence and care. Whatever the case, it turns out the human body puts on one heckuva good show!

When a human skeleton comes out and offers to right there, before your very eyes, become a fully formed human being with guts, skin, etc. who are you to refuse? Tonight the human body itself is putting on a show and everyone from the stagehands (the cells) to the players (whether they’re body parts or viruses) is fully engaged and involved. With our narrator’s help we dive deep beneath the skin and learn top to bottom about every possible system our bods have to offer. When all is said and done the readers aren’t just intrigued. They’re picking the book up to read it again and again. Backmatter includes a Glossary of terms and a Bibliography for further reading.

I’ve been a big time Maris Wicks fan for years. It started long ago when I was tooling around a MOCCA (Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art) event and ran across just the cutest little paperback picture book. It couldn’t have been much bigger than a coaster and all it was was a story about a family taking a daytrip to the woods. Called Yes, Let’s it was written by Galen Goodwin and illustrated by a Maris Wicks. I didn’t know either of these people. I just knew the book was good, and when it was published officially a couple years later by Tanglewood Publishing I felt quite justified. But for all that I’d been a fan, I didn’t recognize Ms. Wicks’ work or name, at first, when she illustrated Jim Ottaviani’s Primates. When the connection was made I felt like I’d won a small lottery. Now she’s gone solo with Human Body Theater and the only question left in anybody’s mind is . . . why didn’t she do it sooner? She’s a natural!

Now for whatever reason my four-year-old is currently entranced by this book. She’s naturally inclined to love graphic novels anyway (thank you, Cece Bell) and something in Human Body Theater struck a real chord with her. It’s not hard to figure out why. Visually it’s consistently arresting. Potentially dry material, like the method by which oxygen travels from the lungs to the blood, is presented in the most eclectic way possible (in this case, like a dance). Wicks keeps her panels vibrant and consistently interesting. One minute we might be peering into the inner workings of the capillaries and the next we’re zooming with the blood through the body delivering nutrients and oxygen. The colorful, clear lined style certainly bears a passing similarity to the work of author/artists like Raina Telgemeier, while the ability imbue everything, right down to the smallest atom, with personality is more along the lines of Dan Green’s “Basher Books” series.

For my part, I was impressed with the degree to which Wicks is capable of breaking complex ideas down into simple presentations. The chapters divide neatly into The Skeletal System, The Muscular System, The Respiratory System, The Cardiovascular System, The Digestive System, The Excretory System, The Endocrine System, The Reproductive System, The Immune System, The Nervous System, and the senses (not to mention an early section on cells, elements, and molecules). As impressive as her art is, it’s Wicks’ writing that I feel like we should really credit here. Consider the amount of judicious editing she had to do, to figure out what to keep and what to cut. How do you, as an author, transition neatly from talking about reproduction to the immune system? How do you even tackle a subject as vast as the senses? And most importantly, how gross do you get? Because the funny bones of 10-year-olds demand a certain level of gross out humor, while the stomachs of the gatekeepers buying the book demand that it not go too far. I am happy to report that Ms. Wicks walks that tightrope with infinite skill.

One of the parts of the book I was particularly curious about was the sex and reproduction section. I’ve seen what Robie H. Harris has gone through with her It’s Perfectly Normal series on changing adolescent bodies, and I wondered to what extent Wicks would tread similar ground. The answer? She doesn’t really. Sex is addressed but images of breasts and penises are kept simple to the point of near abstraction. As such, don’t be relying on this for your kid’s sex-ed. There are clear reasons for this limitation, of course. Books that show these body parts, particularly graphic novels, are restricted by some parents or school districts. Wicks even plays with this fact, displaying a sheet covering what looks like a possible penis, only to reveal a very tall sperm instead. And Wicks doesn’t skimp on the info. The chapter on The Reproductive Cycle, for example, contains the delightful phrase, “ATTENTION: Would some blood please report to the penis for a routine erection.” So I’ve no doubt that there will be a parent somewhere who is offended in some way. However, it’s done so succinctly that I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if it causes almost no offense during its publication lifespan (but don’t quote me on that one).

If there is a problem with the book it may come right at the very beginning. Our skeleton hero introduces herself and from there you would expect her to jump right in to Human Body Theater with the bones. Instead, the storyline comes to a near screeching halt from the get go with a laborious explanation of cells, elements, and molecules. It’s not that these things aren’t important or interesting. Indeed, you can more than understand why they come at the beginning the way that they do. But as the book currently stands, this section feels like it was added in at the last minute. If it was going to preface the actual “show” then couldn’t it have been truly separate from the main event and act as a kind of pre-show entertainment?

What parent wouldn’t admit a bit of a thrill when their kid points to their own femur and declares proudly that it’s the longest bone in the human body? Or off-the-cuff speculates on the effects of the appendix on other body functions? We talk a lot about children’s books that (forgive the phrase) “make learning fun”, but how many actually do? When I wrack my brain for fun human body books, I come up surprisingly short. Here then is a title that can push against a certain kind of reader’s reluctance to engage with science on any level. It’s for the science lovers and graphic novel lovers alike (and lord knows the two don’t always overlap). More fun than it has any right to be. No bones about it.

On shelves now.

Like This? Then Try:

• Human Body: A Book with Guts by Dan Green
• The Way We Work: Getting to Know the Human Body by David Macaulay
• Human Body Factory by Dan Green

Source: Final copy sent from publisher for review.

Interviews: A great one conducted with Mara and The A.V. Club.

Today, First Second Books releases The Fall of the House of West.  The book is the newest installment in the acclaimed series of graphic novels that includes Battling Boy and The Rise of Aurora West. In it, writer Paul Pope, co-author JT Petty, and artist David Rubin return to Aurora’s story in a tour de force that mixes sci-fi, fantasy, manga, […]

The Beat sneaks in an early NYCC interview with the one and only Maris Wicks to chat about her new educational science comic from First Second: "Human Body Theater"!

Gene Luen Yang, multiple Eisner winner and National Book Award finalist, has released his latest work for younger readers, a collaboration with Adventure Time artist Mike Holmes entitled Secret Coders. This exciting new volume from First Second, the home of Yang’s award-winning American Born Chinese, Boxers & Saints, and The Shadow Hero, centers on a young […]

As the recent visit to the Small Press Expo showed, there is no shortage of supremely talented cartoonists out there. And the folks at First Second are taking full advantage of this by scooping them up. The latest is Drew Weing whose webcomic The Creepy Casefiles of Margo Maloo will be published next year. Geek Dad has details and an interview. Weing (Set to Sea) has been publishing the comic online since 2014; the print edition comes out in September 2016. It's lovely charming and spooky.

The other day I wrote the following on Facebook about my four-year-old:

“We’re reading my daughter a graphic novel for 9-12 year olds every night (her insistence) called Human Body Theater by Maris Wicks. Basically it goes through all the different parts and functions of the body. Well, tonight she was once again swallowing her toothpaste rather than spitting it. I called her on it and this was her response. I’ve written it as close to her own words as possible:

“It’s not my fault. It’s called abolation and everybody gets it. It makes you not like your toothpaste anymore. You know that pink dot that hangs down from the appendix? Well it swells up to this big [indicates palm] and moves around the body. It makes you not like your toothpaste anymore . . . and sometimes your food, but that’s rare. You know writer’s block? It causes that too. It’s called abolation.”

She later explained that the pink dot wants to leave the body and that it’s why the appendix has to be removed. So. In case you want a book that will inspire your child to think medically . . .

I then linked to Human Body Theater, which seems to have the singular ability to cause small children (and older ones as well, I’m sure) to want to know as much as possible about medical science.  No small feat. Granted mine has a bit of a propensity for original science, but seeing as how she is the product of two English majors, I’m not exactly surprised.

Of course I’d been a fan of Ms. Wicks for years, starting with her work on the picture book Yes, Let’s as written by Galen Goodwin and continuing through Primates, written by Jim Ottaviani.  At Day of Dialog in the spring I learned about the incipient existence of Human Body Theater and had been (not so) patiently awaiting its release ever since.

But wait!!  Hold the phone!!  That is not all Ms. Wicks is capable of, oh no.  That is not all.  For lo, see ye the following cover reveal.  Yea verily, tis a bonny bonny book:

My hope is that this inspires in the resident offspring the same love of the ocean as her previous book caused in terms of bodily functions.  But looking at these interior spreads, I think I’ve little to worry about.

Want to know more about the new Science Comics series?  Here is the full description:

“Every volume of Science Comics offers a complete introduction to a particular topic–dinosaurs, coral reefs, the solar system, volcanoes, bats, flying machines, and more. These gorgeously illustrated graphic novels offer wildly entertaining views of their subjects. Whether you’re a fourth grader doing a natural science unit at school or a thirty-year-old with a secret passion for airplanes, these books are for you!

This volume: in Coral Reefs, we learn all about these tiny, adorable sea animals! This absorbing look at ocean science covers the biology of coral reefs as well as their ecological importance. Nonfiction comics genius Maris Wicks brings to bear her signature combination of hardcore cuteness and in-depth science.

Maris Wicks lives in sunny Somerville, Massachusetts. She is the author behind Human Body Theater, as well as the illustrator of New York Times-bestselling Primates, with Jim Ottaviani. When she’s not making comics, Wicks works as a program educator at the New England Aquarium. She is quite fond of being in the water, whether it’s swimming in ponds or scuba diving in the Atlantic Ocean. Her latest book, Coral Reefs, will be in stores in May 2016. dotsforeyes.blogspot.com”

Many thanks to First Second for allowing me this cover reveal and to Ms. Wicks for generally existing in the first place.

GO CORAL!!

Renowned for his wonderful children’s series, Zita the Space Girl and last year’s Julia’s House for Lost Creatures, Ben Hatke is one of the leading talents in young person’s graphic literature. His latest effort, Little Robot, which releases in stores today, tells the tale of a young girl who discovers a robot in the woods. […]

“Applied comics” — using the words and pictures combination for education and non fiction — is a growing field, especially as comics become more accepted in educational uses. And First Sceond is going all in with a new line of Science Comics that launches with three books: Dinosaurs (MK Reed and Joe Flood; Spring 2016) Coral Reefs […]